The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, will today (Monday) launch the first online portal for passport application in Abuja.

He disclosed this during a demonstration session of the online portal on Friday with the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Caroline Adepoju.

According to Tunji, an online passport application platform has been established for both international and Nigerian applicants.

The minister had announced in December that the Federal Government was working to ensure a full automation system of passport application in the country.

At the time, the minister said the automated application system was “99 per cent done,” adding that the process would include uploading passport photos and supporting documents.

He stated that Nigerian applicants who want 32-page passports with five-year validity would pay N25,000, while those who want 64-page passports with a 10-year validity would pay N70,000.

Meanwhile, foreign applicants, who wish to apply for passports with a five-year validity period and 32 pages, will pay $130, while those who prefer passports with a 10-year validity period and 64 pages will pay $230. Candidates must submit their applications at https://passport.immigration.gov.ng.

Dignitaries who graced the event included the Chairman, of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; representative of the International Organisation for Migration, Stephen Matete; Country Manager, Development Alternatives Incorporated, Joe Abah; Founder, Kwandala Foundation, Tijjani Musa, and the Co-founder, Technext, David Afolayan.

[Punch]

The 2027 presidential election is three years away but political realignments have begun, mainly within the opposition camp.

This came to the fore yesterday as the group of five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors reaffirmed support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027.

The five governors, who worked against their party’s candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 general election, stated this yesterday at a New Year luncheon organised by minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, at his private residence at Rumueprikom in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Members of the G-5 governors – former governors Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and Seyi Makinde (incumbent governor of Oyo) – had supported President Bola Tinubu, then the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, in the 2023 election.

The event also had in attendance serving and former members of the National Assembly and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Wike.

Earlier in the day, however, a coalition of opposition platforms disclosed moves to birth what they call an ultra-political party ahead of the 2027 polls.

This was disclosed by the National Consultative Front (NCFront) which also revealed that its inaugural meeting will be held this month.

Interestingly, the Labour Party and the PDP had at different times, last year, distanced themselves from talks of a merger following Atiku’s call for a united front among the opposition leaders.

While the Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, recently declared that his party was ready to be Nigeria’s main opposition party this year, one of Atiku’s spokesmen, Daniel Bwala, stated that his boss will contest the 2027 election, warning that the opposition must unite behind him if they intend to unseat the APC.

But in a dramatic twist, the Coalition for United Political Parties (CUPP) yesterday rejected Atiku as the rallying point of the opposition parties in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general election.

Pundits and analysts had blamed divisions for the opposition’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
Recall that major PDP figures had split from the part ahead of the 2023 polls. Obi had switched to the Labour Party; Dr Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), while the G-5 governors supported the rival APC. Atiku retained what was left.

This was a clear contrast from the 2013 merger of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and a part of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which defeated a hitherto behemoth PDP in 2015.

However, the National Consultative Front (NCFront), yesterday, said the opposition is working to initiate a new ultra-mega political party to rescue Nigeria from the misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group, led by former presidential candidate, Prof Pat Utomi, said while it was aware of the dissenting views so far, a meeting held over the weekend (Saturday) among key opposition leaders showed that they were poised towards forming a mega party.

It added that a Merger Facilitation Group had been put in place to ensure the process succeeds.
The group issued a statement debunking insinuations that Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso were already jostling to run for the presidency in the next round of general elections in 2027.
Acting spokesperson of NCFront, Mallam Hamisu San Turaki, said consultations are ongoing on how to streamline and strengthen their political forces to be able to rescue the country from the dangerous slide into misrule and anarchy foisted by the APC.

Turaki, in the statement yesterday, said the “current erroneous view in the media is a panicky and mischievous agenda of hatchet jobbers to divide the opposition and frustrate the merger proposal for leading opposition parties mooted by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar before it takes off, knowing fully well that the unity of the opposition in Nigeria will, without stress, defeat and overthrow the present flip-flop governance and wrongheaded policies of the present Tinubu-led APC administration.

“For the avoidance of doubt, leading opposition leaders and parties in Nigeria are at the moment not focused on contesting for political offices in 2027 but presently holding consultations on how to streamline and strengthen their political forces to be able to rescue the country from the dangerous slide into misrule and anarchy foisted by the All Progressives Congress-led federal government as well as its exploitative economic policies which have landed millions of households and citizens in Nigeria into abject poverty and penury, making the renewed hope mantra of the Tinubu government a mere consolidation of the rudderless policies of despair and hopelessness of the Buhari regime.”

Throwing more light on the unfolding realignment, Turaki told LEADERSHIP that the organisers reached out to all the stakeholders, including key leaders of PDP, Labour Party and NNPP.
He revealed that at the meeting held in Abuja over the weekend, the various party leaders gave their blessing before the statement unveiling their intention was issued.

“We had a meeting with all of them. Peter Obi was part of the meeting. Even some key members of PDP also all agreed to it. We held the meeting yesterday (Saturday) in Abuja.
“In forming a thing like this, we are also aware of the challenges but we have made good progress,” he said.

While he noted the dissenting posture from some members in the opposition party towards the emergence of a united opposition political front, he stressed that genuine lovers of democracy and good governance are already aligned with the drive to rescue Nigeria.

He, however, noted that they are aware of other real concerns from those who have good intentions and would be open to listening to proactive measures to make the union better.
He maintained that the inaugural meeting will be held before the end of the month.
When contacted, the camp of former Vice President Atiku admitted that its principal was in consonance with the position of NCFront.

This was confirmed to LEADERSHIP by Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, who replied “Yes!”, when asked if the platform’s position reflected that of the former presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, the G-5 governors, who worked against PDP in the 2023 general election, reactivated their machinery ahead of the 2027 election at the New Year luncheon organised by Wike in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

However, speaking during the luncheon, former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, who reaffirmed Wike as the leader of the group, pledged the group’s continuous support to the presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Ortom said: “All of us are here today to support Nyesom Ezenwo Wike as leader of the G-5. We are here because we recognise Wike as the leader of G-5. I am speaking on behalf of G-5 governors.

“Governor Ikpeazu is not here because his son is getting married in Lagos today. We have to sacrifice that event with his consent, so that we will be able to honour this invitation, even though belated.

“Governor Seyi Makinde, who is the youth leader of the G-5 governors is in the United States on vacation with his family. Of course, you know if he were in Nigeria, he would have done everything to be around because he respects Wike.

“Today, the G-5 governors are going to talk about President Tinubu, Wike and Rivers State. Tinubu, we are very proud of you. The demand of G-5 governors was that a Southerner should emerge as president. All of us supported Tinubu during the election and we are going to continue to support his presidency.”

On his part, Wike admonished his supporters not to be pained about the sacrifices they made during the 2023 election in the state which produced Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The FCT minister, who has been locked in a battle of wits with his successor and estranged political godson, Fubara, had during a private visit to the residence of the APC national vice chairman, South-South, Chief Victor Giadom, at Bera community in Gokana local government area of the state, boasted that the true political leaders of the state would be unveiled in due time.

At yesterday’s luncheon Wike said, “It is not everything you invest in that you will reap in. People establish a company and it crumbles. They have to be alive to make sure the companies stay.

“So, you cannot say I did this and that. God knows why things happen the way they happen. But what is important is life; to God be the glory. Life continues for us to see what is happening. When a man is dead, he doesn’t know what is happening.

“So, you should be able to advise your children, you should be able to advise your friends. I was alive and this is what I saw; don’t allow yourself to be a victim.”

Also in attendance at the gathering were the acting PDP chairman in the state, Hon. Chukwuemeka Aaron, and the chairman, caretaker committee chairman of the APC, Chief Tony Okocha, as well as chairmen of the 23 local government areas of the state.

The naira has depreciated by 38.9 percent against the United States dollar at the official I&E window of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the past three months, according to findings by The PUNCH.

Data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange revealed that the local currency fell from N745.19/$ on October 3, 2023, to N1035.12/$ as of January 3, 2024.

While the naira depreciated from 471/dollar to about 700/dollar at the official market shortly after the announcement of the exchange rate unification policy of the CBN in June 2023, PUNCH findings showed the local currency had fallen further in the past few months to over  N1000/dollar.

At the parallel market, the local currency has been trading around 1,220/dollar in recent weeks. 

On Sunday, manufacturers and other members of the organised private sector said the falling naira value at the official and parallel markets was having a severe negative impact on their bottom lines.

Specifically, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, said their members were already scaling down operations over the development, a situation that might lead to the sacking of more workers.

The naira volatility on the I&E window has continued despite recent efforts by the Federal Government to improve the liquidity of the FX market.

The naira began 2024 at N988.46/$, an 8.97 percent decline from the N907.11/$ it closed trading on the last day of 2023 on the official window. It further tumbled to N1035.12/$ on Wednesday, January 3. This decline in the value of the naira marked the third time that the naira has closed above N1000/$ on the I&E window.

On December 8, the naira fell to an all-time low of N1,099.05/$, and on December 28, 2023, it closed trading at N1043.09/$. On Friday, the naira closed trading at N869.39/$, recovering to close the week better than it started.

According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the naira has now lost about 38.91 percent of its value since October 3 when it closed trading at N745.19/$ on the I&E window.

On the day before the rate cap was removed by the CBN in June 2023, the naira closed trading at N471/$.

The continued decline of the naira is happening despite efforts, including clearing FX backlogs, by the government to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market. Towards the end of 2023, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, revealed that the Federal Government had received a $2.25bn foreign exchange support facility from the African Import-Export Bank.

According to the minister, the first tranche of its $3.3bn facility from the bank is aimed at resolving FX shortages in the economy.

In August, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited announced it had secured a $3bn emergency crude oil repayment loan from the African Export-Import Bank to support the Federal Government’s effort to stabilise the foreign exchange rate.

The naira has yet to respond positively to this latest injection of liquidity to the dismay of many. In its December Nigeria Development Update, the World highlighted that of volume of FX trades in the official window remained consistently low.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange has shown that FX volumes on the I&E window have consistently hovered around $100m to $150m.

The Washington-based bank noted that without stabilisation in the official FX market at market-reflective rates, the risks to expected net FDI and net FPI would remain high for the country.

Commenting on the issue of volatility, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, recently stated that the bank was concerned about this and doing all within its power to address it.

He said, “We are taking a comprehensive look at all the different policies that have come out from the central bank over a period of time and come out with an elegant document that states what is required from start to scratch and is clear on how to play that market.”

OPS expresses worry

However, members of the OPS including MAN, and LCCI have expressed worry that more companies may wind down operations in Nigeria if the trend of foreign exchange scarcity continues in the country.

In June 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria directed Deposit Money Banks to remove the rate cap on the naira at the official Investors and Exporters’ Window of the foreign exchange market, to allow for a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other global currencies.

This came barely two weeks after President Bola Tinubu promised to unify the nation’s multiple exchange rates, and less than a week before the suspension and detention of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, whose unorthodox monetary policies had become a stumbling block to investors and the economy.

The CBN’s decision to float the currency was hailed by the organised private sector and economists who said the move would unify the country’s multiple exchange rate and sanitise the forex market

However, in the immediate aftermath of the implementation of this policy, the naira fell from N471 on the official market to N664. This implied a 40.97 percent decline in the value of the naira when the naira was floated. Since then, the currency has dropped by 36 percent to N908 as of January 7, 2024.

In November, reports emerged that the CBN had begun to clear the $7bn backlog which had accumulated as a result of forex scarcity in the preceding months. Despite the development, the naira continued to depreciate, closing at the official market at N831 by the end of November.

During a presentation in Abuja last month, World Bank lead economist for Nigeria Alex Sienaert said Nigeria still needed to control inflation and stabilise its foreign exchange market to boost economic growth following currency reforms and the removal of a petrol subsidy.

According to him, the government still needs to remove remaining import restrictions, despite lifting a forex ban on 43 items, improve infrastructure and pursue clear, consistent trade policies.

The bank also urged the CBN to tighten monetary policy, build market confidence around free foreign exchange pricing, phase out “ways and means” advances to the government and discontinue its development finance initiatives, part of a series of unorthodox policies used by Emefiele.

‘forex scarcity calamitous’

While speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, said manufacturers were wary that if the current trend continued, the consequence would be calamitous for the real sector of the economy.

He further expressed dismay that the current business climate was causing companies to shut down manufacturing operations in Nigeria.

He said, “If the trend continues, there will be more calamity. The serious fear we have is that if this continues, then the sector will suffer. We are not happy that manufacturers are shutting down. We hope that it is not a continuous trend.

“We are not happy that another manufacturer just closed shop. We hope that is not a continuous trend. It is not good news for us at the beginning of the year.”

Over the past few months, manufacturers have intensified their call for the government to craft a lasting solution to the perennial crisis of forex illiquidity.

In its recent 2024 sector outlook, MAN urged the CBN to prioritise forex and credit allocation to the manufacturers.

The General Manager of Royal Foam Products Limited, Ezekiel Akhiromen, said the recent fall in the naira rate was negatively affecting operators.

He said, “Of course. It is affecting us, about 80 percent of what we buy requires forex – the chemicals and other materials come in from outside the country.”

Companies face shutdown

On his part, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, said more companies would exit Nigeria if forex scarcity continued to constitute a headache for businesses.

Idahosa, who was speaking on the announcement by a manufacturing firm — Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing, that it was winding down production activities, said over-reliance on CBN allocation for forex was hurting the Nigerian economy.

Idahosa said, “The only thing that came to mind as to why the company ceased operation is foreign exchange, because if they are importing some of the items they use, then they will have a hard time, but the market for syringes is unlimited.”

‘If things continue the way they are, then businesses will be forced to relocate, even Nigerian businesses are relocating, how much more foreign businesses? There are Nigerian businesses in Ghana now.”

Speaking further, Idahosa advised firms to hedge against currency volatility via exports and backward integration policies.

He added, “I have been advising a lot of my clients and pointing them to what a lot of their competitors are doing. Most manufacturing entities are now seeing the importance of having a division that is exporting. So when everybody is crying that

“CBN is not allocating enough forex, they are getting their forex from exports, but a lot of Nigerian companies don’t have because the crowd mentality is that CBN will allocate foreign currency to them. But CBN does not have a factory where it produces foreign currency.

“So, once NNPC does not bring oil money and our diaspora remittances are exhausted, where else do you get forex, because we are not attracting much foreign investments.”

Companies downsizing — NASSI

Also speaking, the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Segun Kuti-George, said companies were currently in a ‘state of limbo,’ and were being forced to downsize to stay in business.

He lamented that businesses were going through a difficult time as a result of the forex scarcity as many of them were forced to go to the parallel market to procure foreign exchange at extortionate rates.

Kuti-George said, “We are just existing. There is no alternative to foreign exchange. Businesses are in limbo. Those that have not folded up are somewhat in limbo, except for those producing basic household goods.

“Businesses have been downsizing quietly. They don’t have to announce that they are laying off staff. It is not something that makes it to the tabloids. No one will tell you that they are downsizing. They will simply lay people off.”

The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, says efforts by air and ground components of Operation Hadin Kai to clear the Northeast of remnants of terrorists have continued to record series of successes.

The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Edward Gabkwet, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Gabkwet said that one of such successful operations occurred on Jan. 5, at Parisu after terrorists were, for days, observed moving items suspected to be weapons and ammunition to the area.

According to him, Parisu, a location near Sambisa Forest, was once a terrorist enclave deserted after its own troops had cleared the area of terrorists’ activities.

He added that the convergence of terrorists within the location raised suspicion of their intent and plan, hence the directive to strike the location.

Gabkwet noted that the result of the strikes led to a huge ball of flames from two adjacent spots within the vicinity, while some surviving terrorists were observed scampering for safety.

“Feedback also revealed that 12 terrorists were neutralised in the strike, and their logistics destroyed, thereby degrading their ability to attack soft targets and own troops.

“Similar strikes were also carried out at a location about 1.5Km Southwest of Tumbun Agiri within the Tumbuns in the Lake Chad region on Jan. 6.

“Intelligence gathered over time had revealed the continuous gathering of armed terrorists in pick-up vehicles and motorcycles, hence the go-ahead to attack the location.

“The precision strikes on the location led to the destruction of the vehicles, motorcycles as well as elimination of several terrorists,” he said.